MF Global Employees Gave Big to Democrats Until the End

Brokerage firm MF Global filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, in what will likely be one of the ten largest bankruptcies ever, the Wall Street Journalreported. But before its collapse, MF Global’s employees gave generously to politicians at the federal level — and almost all of that campaign cash benefited Democrats once former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine became chief executive of the company.

According to research by the Center for Responsive Politics, MF Global employees have contributed $408,000 to federal candidates and political parties since 2007. That sum includes $38,000 in donations to President Barack Obama, who is the largest recipient of MF Global employee contributions.

During the 2008 election cycle (the last full cycle before Corzine joined the company), Democrats received 68 percent of MF Global employees’ total contributions. But after Corzine joined in 2010, employee contributions shifted even further to the left: A full 97 percent of MF Global-related campaign contributions benefited Democrats during the 2010 cycle. Democrats had maintained that advantage this year, as well, collecting about 94 percent of MF Global employee donations through June.

It’s worth noting that Corzine is himself a major Democratic contributor and ardent Obama supporter. Indeed, Corzine’s own penchant for donating to Democrats is in large part responsible for the left-ward shift in the company’s overall employee giving.

The former Garden State governor and his spouses (Corzine is currently married and has divorced once) have given more than $917,000 to federal campaigns and political parties during the last two decades.

Corzine and his spouses accounted for $101,000 of all MF Global employee contributions during the 2010 election cycle and $53,000 of donations occurring this year. All of those contributions benefited Democrats.

Below is a chart that shows MF Global’s employee contributions to federal-level political candidates and parties, from January of 2007 through September of 2011.

A known supporter of Obama, Corzine also fund-raised for the president during his 2008 presidential run and has tapped his moneyed connections to bundle upwards of $500,000 so far for Obama’s 2012 run.

Meanwhile, only one Republican candidate has received a contribution worth more than $200 from an MF Global employee this year: former governor of Massachusetts and current presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who received $2,500.

Employees have also sent a significant sum to party committees, particularly the Democratic National Committee, which has received $121,000 since 2008; about $93,000 of that sum has come just this year. Other Democratic committees have received an additional $45,000 and the Republican National Committee has received $22,000.

Indeed, MF Global employees contributed until the end, giving a total of $142,000 this year alone — the highest annual sum since the company split from Man Group in 2007. That stands in stark contrast to its lobbying spending, which fell sharply after 2007 and each year since, as OpenSecrets Blogpreviously reported.

To see the full list of MF Global employees’ political contributions, click here: http://bit.ly/sRXi3x

Center for Responsive Politics research Doug Weber contributed to this report.

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